Velocity Frequent Flyer has an excellent and very useful Family Pooling feature. It can offer huge benefits to couples and families trying to build their Velocity Points and Status Credits balances.

Family Pooling is easy to set up – all you need is your Velocity account details, and those of your family member(s). In this guide, we’ll run through how to set up Velocity Family Pooling and how you and your family can benefit.

What is Velocity Family Pooling?

In a nutshell, Family Pooling is a nifty feature of the Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Up to two adults and four children (under 18 years of age) from a single household can opt to share Velocity Points and Status Credits or just Velocity Points. The former is where the status benefits are gained, so the remainder of this guide will focus on the option of sharing both points and status credits.

In Velocity’s Family Pooling, there are two roles:

  • The beneficiary: This is the Velocity account holder who will receive the pooled points and Status Credits. Generally, this person travels the most in the family, as they’ll benefit the most and be able to share elite travel perks with the family. For example, an adult who travels regularly for work.
  • The contributors: The other family members, each with their Velocity account, send their earned points and Status Credits to the beneficiary. For example, the beneficiary’s partner plus any children. However, depending on the living situation, this can also include parents or other immediate relatives.

Imagine the possibilities – one person receiving multiples of Velocity Points and Status Credits when travelling as a family. It’s no exaggeration to say that Family Pooling is your fast-track ticket to Velocity Gold and Platinum status!

Reach Velocity Gold or Platinum status faster for lounge access benefits and more!

Other key programs for Australia-based travellers that allow family points pooling include Emirates Skywards and Etihad Guest. However, those only allow you to pool spendable miles or points, not the status-based elite miles.

How does Virgin Australia’s Family Pooling work?

Using Family Pooling means that every time participating family members earn Velocity Points and Status Credits, they are automatically credited to the beneficiary. By collecting everyone’s points and Status Credits, the beneficiary could earn Velocity elite status much faster.

All points earned into all household member’s Velocity accounts are pooled automatically on an ongoing basis. That includes those from credit card sign-up bonuses and flights. This is especially powerful for anyone paying for flights for a full family on Virgin Australia or one of its airline partners, where you would otherwise earn Status Credits into individual accounts.

As an extreme example, this screenshot shows the result of Family Pooling for a paid Business Class trip from Sydney to London with Etihad involving one beneficiary and three contributors:

Velocity Family Pooling
This member earned 1,120 Status Credits by using Family Pooling, more than enough to reach Velocity Platinum.

How to set up Velocity Family Points Pooling

  1. Decide who will be the beneficiary of Family Pooling (who will collect everyone else’s points and Status Credits). Also, decide who will be the contributors.
  2. Each contributor must log into their Velocity account and navigate to Family Pooling under ‘My Profile’.
  3. Choose whether each contributor will send the beneficiary ‘points only’ or ‘points and Status Credits’.
  4. Enter the details of the beneficiary, including their full name, Velocity membership number and relationship to the contributor.
  5. Confirm all the details before starting the Family Pool.
  6. Points and Status Credits will be transferred from 12:01am the next day. Keep this in mind when planning, as anything earned on the same day as setting up the pool won’t be transferred.
How to set up Velocity Family Points Pooling
Setting up Family Points Pooling can be easily done by logging into your Velocity account.
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How to maximise elite Velocity status with Family Pooling

As we’ve highlighted, Status Credits from everyone’s travel across the pool can be combined with the beneficiary’s account. That lucky person can earn status much faster. This unlocks guesting of other family members into lounges and sharing other status benefits if travelling together — including priority check-in, priority boarding and free Economy X extra-legroom seats for Velocity Platinum members.

Updates to the pool can be made at any time. This means you can reorganise who the beneficiary or the contributors are to improve another member’s status once you’ve hit your status target. That way, they can enjoy some of the perks of achieving Velocity Silver, Gold or Platinum status.

Velocity Gold and Platinum members get lounge access when travelling on Virgin Australia. [Photo: Brandon Loo]

Remember that if your family member is close to a status upgrade, you may want to delay setting up Family Pooling. That’s because if their Status Credits end up with you, they won’t be able to reach the next status level themselves! Alternatively, you could pool them to speed up the process.

Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Virgin Australia Lounges

How to use Velocity Family Points Transfers

Update October 2024: Velocity has temporarily suspended the ability to transfer points on its website. You can still transfer points by calling the Membership Contact Centre.

Velocity Family Points Transfers are a little different to Family Points Pooling. It doesn’t require you to link your Velocity accounts on an ongoing basis to consolidate points and Status Credits.

Instead, you can make up to four one-off transfers per membership year, free when performed online. Each transfer has a minimum value of 5,000 points and a maximum value of 125,000 points.

Once logged into your Velocity account, you initiate the transfer from My Profile > Family Points Transfer. You’ll perform the process from the account of the member who is transferring the points out. Before making the transfer, you must input the recipient’s details and confirm that they are an eligible family member.

Top up your Velocity Points balance with a credit card sign-up bonus!

Should you use Velocity Family Points Pooling or Points Transfers?

The definition of family in both cases is the same across either system. An eligible family member may be any of the following:

  • Husband/wife/domestic partner/de facto
  • Parent/child
  • Brother/sister
  • Grandparent/grandchild
  • Son-/daughter-in-law
  • Brother-/sister-in-law
  • Father-/mother-in-law
  • Uncle/aunt
  • Nephew/niece
  • First cousin
  • Any foster, step or adopted relationship in any of these categories

For Family Pooling, all members must reside at the same home address. Proof of this may be requested if Velocity suspects any wrongdoing. In any case, the address in all participant accounts should match up. Your Family Pooling will be suspended if a family member changes the address on their Velocity account. Family Points Transfers are not required to reside at the same address.

Advantages of Family Points Pooling

Family Points Pooling is much simpler to manage on an ongoing basis. It requires little admin work to maintain and is ideal for families with a primary travelling family member who wants to benefit from elite Velocity status.

The downside is that everyone must live at the same address. Also, once points and Status Credits are pooled, those transactions can’t be reversed (though you can still transfer points through Family Points Transfers if needed). If that’s not a concern, go for Family Pooling.

Advantages of Family Transfers

The upside of Family Points Transfers is the additional flexibility for points balance management. Family Transfers allow you to combine a wider range of family members’ balances, including those not at the same address.

However, note the restrictions on the minimum and maximum transfer amounts. You can only do this four times per membership year. Furthermore, Status Credits cannot be transferred between family members through this facility.

Summing up

Velocity Frequent Flyer’s Family Points Pooling feature rewards households for shifting their full loyalty to Virgin Australia and partners, including points earned from credit cards. Family Points Transfers allow more flexibility, but you need to note the restrictions on transfer amounts and limits.

The program’s other family-friendly benefits include membership pause for parental leave, plus Gold and Platinum member perks such as lounge access guesting, guaranteed Economy Reward seats for a family trip, and companion Gold or Platinum members for high-status earners.

This article was originally written by Evin Tan Khiew.

Also read: The best ways to use Velocity Points


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Frequently asked questions

Can you transfer Velocity Points to family members?

Yes, Velocity members can transfer their points to eligible family members via the Velocity website, or by calling the Membership Contact Centre. There is a minimum transger of 5,000 Velocity Points, and a maximum of 125,000 points, per transfer.

Does Qantas Frequent Flyer have family pooling?

Qantas doesn’t allow household accounts or pooling like Velocity, but it does offer the ability to transfer points to another nominated family member. Note that Qantas may do spot checks on transfers and accounts to ensure you are actually transferring to an eligible family member.

Which airlines offer family pooling of points/miles?

Etihad Guest, Velocity Frequent Flyer, Emirates Skywards, British Airways Executive Club, ANA Mileage Club and JAL Mileage Bank allow you to combine points/miles with family members. There are other frequent flyer programs too but these are the most relevant to an Australian audience.

Can I transfer Velocity Points to Qantas?

No, points earned under Velocity Frequent Flyer cannot be transferred to Qantas Frequent Flyer, which is a completely different program.

The Ultimate Guide to Velocity Family Pooling was last modified: October 7th, 2024 by Victoria Kyriakopoulos